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ple; by inciting insurrections of our fellow-subjects with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation; by prompting our negroes to rise in arms among us, those very negroes, whom by an inhuman use of his negative he had refused us permission to exclude by law; by endeavouring to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions of existence; by transporting hither a large army of foreign mercenaries, to complete the work of death, desolation and tyranny, then already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy unworthy the head of a civilized nation; by answering our repeated petitions for redress with a repetition of injuries; and finally, by abandoning the helm of government, and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection: by which several acts of misrule, the government of this country, as before exercised under the crown of Great Britain, was totally dissolved: did, therefore, having maturely considered the premises, and viewing with great concein the deplorable condition, to which this once happy country would be reduced, unless some regular adequate mode of civil polity should be speedily adopted, and in compliance with the recommendation of the general congress, ordain and declare a form of government of Virginia.

And whereas the general assembly of Virginia, by an act passed on the tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, entitled, an act to organize a convention, did authorize and provide for the election, by the people, of delegates and representatives, to meet and assemble, in general convention, at the capitol in the city of Richmond, on the first Monday of October in the year last aforesaid, to consider, discuss, and propose, a new constitution, or alterations and amendments of the existing constitution of this commonwealth, to be submitted to the people and to be by them ratified or rejected.

We, therefore, the delegates and representatives of the good people of Virginia, elected and in convention assembled, in pursuance of the said act of assembly, do submit and propose to the people, the following amended constitution and form of government for this commonwealth, that is to say:

ARTICLE 1.

The Declaration of Rights made on the 12th June, 1776, by the representatives of the good people of Virginia assembled in full and free convention, which pertained to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government; requiring in the opinion of this convention no amendment, shall be prefixed to this constitution, and have the same relation thereto as it had to the former constitution of this commonwealth.

ARTICLE 2.

The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments, shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that the justices of the county courts shall be eligible to either house of assembly.

ARTICLE 3.

1. The legislature shall be formed of two distinct branches, which together shall be a complete legislature, and shall be called the General Assembly of Virginia.

2. One of these shall be called the House of Delegates, and shall consist of one hundred and thirty-four members, to be chosen, annually, for and by the several counties, cities, towns and boroughs of the commonwealth; whereof thirty-one delegates shall be chosen for and by the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany mountains; twenty-five, for and by the fourteen counties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge of mountains; forty-two for and by the twenty-nine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge of mountains and above tide-water; and thirty-six, for and by the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying upon tide-water, that is to say: Of the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany, the counties of Harrison, Montgomery, Monongalia, Ohio and Washington, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Brooke, Cabell, Grayson, Greenbrier, Giles, Kanawha, Lee, Lewis, Logan, Mason, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, Tyler, Wood and Wythe, shall each elect one delegate. Of the fourteen counties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge, the counties of Frederick and Shenandoah, shall each elect three delegates; the counties of Augusta, Berkeley, Botetourt, Hampshire, Jefferson, Rockingham and Rockbridge, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Hardy, Morgan, and Pendleton, shall each elect one delegate. Of the twentynine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge and above tide-water, the county of Loudoun, shall elect three delegates; the counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Culpeper, Fauquier, Franklin, Halifax, Mecklenburg and Pittsylvania, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Amelia, Amherst, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Goochland, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Nelson, Nottoway, Orange, Patrick, Powhatan and Prince Edward, shall each elect one delegate. And of the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying on tide-water, the counties of Accomack and Norfolk, shall each elect two delegates; the counties of Caroline, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Greenesville, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King and Queen,

King William, King George, Nansemond, Northumberland, Northampton, Princess Anne, Prince George, Prince William, Southampton, Spottsylvania, Stafford, Sussex, Surry, and Westmoreland, and the city of Richmond, the borough of Norfolk, and the town of Petersburg shall each elect one delegate; the counties of Lancaster and Richmond, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of Matthews and Middlesex, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of Elizabeth City and Warwick, shall together elect one delegate; the counties of James City and York, and the city of Williamsburg, shall together elect one delegate: and the counties of New Kent and Charles City, shall together elect one delegate.

3. The other house of the general assembly shall be called the Senate, and shall consist of thirty-two members, of whom thirteen shall be chosen for and by the counties lying west of the Blue Ridge of mountains, and nineteen for and by the counties, cities, towns and boroughs lying east thereof; and for the election of whom, the counties, cities, towns and boroughs shall be divided into thirty-two districts, as hereinafter provided. Each county of the respective districts, at the time of the first election of its delegate or delegates under this constitution, shall vote for one senator; and the sheriffs or other officers holding the election for each county, city, town or borough within five days at farthest after the last county, city, town or borough election in the district, shall meet at some convenient place, and from the polls so taken in their respective counties, cities, towns or boroughs, return as a senator the person who shall have the greatest number of votes in the whole district. To keep up this assembly by rotation, the districts shall be equally divided into four classes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the first general election, the eight members elected by the first division shall be displaced, and the vacancies thereby occasioned, supplied from such class or division by new election in the manner aforesaid. This rotation shall be applied to each division according to its number, and continued in due order annually. And for the election of senators, the counties of Brooke, Ohio and Tyler, shall form one district: the counties of Monongalia, Preston and Randolph, shall form another district: the counties of Harrison, Lewis and Wood, shall form another district: the counties of Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Logan and Nicholas, shall form another district: the counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, Giles and Montgomery, shall form another district: the counties of Tazewell, Wythe and Grayson, shall form another district; the counties of Washington, Russell, Scott and Lee, shall form another district: the counties of Berkeley, Morgan and Hampshire, shall form another district: the counties of Frederick and Jefferson, shall form another district: the counties of Shenandoah and Hardy shall form another district: the counties of Rockingham and

Pendleton shall form another district: the counties of Augusta and Rockbridge shall form another district: the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Pocahontas, and Botetourt, shall form another district: the counties of Loudoun and Fairfax shall form another district: the counties of Fauquier and Prince William shall form another district: the counties of Stafford, King George, Westmoreland, Richmond, Lancaster, and Northumberland, shall form another district: the counties of Culpeper, Madison, and Orange, shall form another district: the counties of Albemarle, Nelson, and Amherst, shall form another district: the counties of Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, and Hanover, shall form another district: the counties of Spottsylvania, Caroline, and Essex, shall form another district: the counties of King and Queen, King William, Gloucester, Matthews, and Middlesex, shall form another district: the counties of Accomack, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York and Warwick, and the city of Williamsburg, shall form another district: the counties of Charles City, James City, New Kent and Henrico, and the city of Richmond, shall form another district: the counties of Bedford and Franklin, shall form another district: the counties of Buckingham, Campbell, and Cumberland, shall form another district: the counties of Patrick, Henry, and Pittsylvania, shall form another district: the counties of Halifax and Mecklenburg, shall form another district: the counties of Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward, shall form another district: the counties of Amelia, Powhatan, and Chesterfield, and the town of Petersburg, shall form another district: the counties of Brunswick, Dinwiddie, and Greenesville, shall form another district: the counties of Isle of Wight, Prince George, Southampton, Surry, and Sussex, shall form another district: and the counties of Norfolk, Nansemond, and Princess Anne, and the borough of Norfolk, shall form another district.

4. It shall be the duty of the legislature, to re-apportion, once in ten years, to wit: in the year 1841, and every ten years thereafter, the representation of the counties, cities, towns, and boroughs, of this commonwealth, in both of the legislative bodies: Provided, however, that the number of delegates from the aforesaid great districts, and the number of senators from the aforesaid two great divisions, respectively, shall neither be increased nor diminished by such re-apportionment. And when a new county shall hereafter be created, or any city, town, or borough, not now entitled to separate representation in the house of delegates, shall have so increased in population as to be entitled, in the opinion of the general assembly, to such representation, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to make provision by law for securing to the people of such new county, or such city, town, or borough, an adequate representation. And if the object cannot otherwise

be effected, it shall be competent to the general assembly to re-apportion the whole representation of the great district containing such new county, or such city, town or borough, within its limits; which re-apportionment shall continue in force till the next regular decennial re-apportionment.

5. The general assembly, after the year 1841, and at intervals thereafter of not less than ten years, shall have authority, two-thirds of each house concurring, to make re-apportionments of delegates and senators, throughout the commonwealth, so that the number of delegates shall not at any time exceed 150, nor of senators 36.

6. The whole number of members to which the state may at any time be entitled in the house of representatives of the United States, shall be apportioned as nearly as may be, amongst the several counties, cities, boroughs, and towns of the state, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.

7. Any person may be elected a senator who shall have attained to the age of thirty years, and shall be actually a resident and freeholder within the district, qualified by virtue of his freehold, to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution. And any person may be elected a member of the house of delegates, who shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, and shall be actually a resident and freeholder within the county, city, town, borough, or election district, qualified by virtue of his freehold, to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution: Provided, that all persons holding lucrative offices, and ministers of the gospel, and priests of every denomination, shall be incapable of being elected members of either house of assembly.

8. The members of the assembly shall receive for their services a compensation to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public treasury: but no law increasing the compensation of the members shall take effect until the end of the next annual session after such law shall have been enacted. And no senator or delegate shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under the commonwealth, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people.

9. The general assembly shall meet once or oftener every year. Neither house, during the session of the legislature, shall without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. A majority of each house shall consti

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